In the Dogg House: Snoop Seeks to End His Ban in U.K.

The Question Before the Court: Did Performer Get a Bum Rap?

By

Cassell Bryan-Low

Updated Feb. 23, 2010 12:01 a.m. ET

LONDON—At Heathrow Airport in 2006, Snoop Dogg was embroiled in the kind of dispute that befits his status as hip-hop royalty. The issue: How many members of his 30-strong entourage could enter the British Airways first-class lounge during a layover.

Snoop Dogg has been persona non grata in the U.K. ever since 2006, following a scuffle between members of his entourage and authorities at Heathrow airport. Now the American hip-hop star is petitioning the government to be allowed back in. WSJ's Cassell Bryan-Low reports.

Police were called, heated words were exchanged and a scuffle ensued. Snoop Dogg—real name Calvin Broadus—was detained but later released with a warning for what British authorities said, and he admitted, was the use of "insulting words." He and his posse went on their way.

But Mr. Broadus has been barred from setting foot in the U.K. ever since he received the warning. At a time when the government's border efforts are focused on fending off religious extremists and illegal immigrants, the U.K. has assigned a special no-fly status to the famous rapper—invoking a rule that allows it to deny entry based on questions of character.

The U.K. says Mr. Broadus, whose rap sheet includes drug and weapons convictions, fits the bill, and border officials here have gone to unusual lengths to back it up. While the average immigration dispute here takes several months to resolve, Mr. Broadus's odyssey with the U.K. bureaucracy has gone on for years.

The story is headed for another installment in the coming weeks, when a U.K. Asylum and Immigration Tribunal is expected to rule on the case.

The situation has exasperated the Snoop camp. There is "disbelief and frustration" at the time it is taking and the energy the government has put into the effort, said Philip Trott, Mr. Broadus's lawyer at the U.K.'s Bates Wells & Braithwaite LLP. Agent Brent Smith at William Morris Endeavor Entertainment LLC added: "Snoop has missed out on several arena tour opportunities, many TV and festival opportunities, as well as a few proposed charity events…And now the U.K. taxpayer is financing the court appeals."

ENLARGE

Snoop Dogg

A spokesman for the U.K. Home Office declined to comment on the case. Mr. Broadus's agent Mr. Smith said the rapper declined to comment.

Mr. Broadus used to be portrayed by the media as closely affiliated with gang culture. He was tried for murder in Los Angeles Superior Court in the shooting of an alleged gang member but was acquitted by a jury in 1996. He has acknowledged his use of marijuana, a frequent subject of his lyrics. But Snoop's public profile is more cartoonish than menacing these days. He coaches high-school football, has touted corporate brands such as car maker Chrysler Group LLC, and is frequently on daytime television, including talk shows such as "The View." He also has appeared in his own shows, including the reality series "Father Hood," which stars his wife and children, and the comedy show "Doggy Fizzle Televizzle"—a play on his trademark construction "izzle."

The April 2006 incident took place as Mr. Broadus was on the way to South Africa to appear at a series of concerts. In video footage at Heathrow, the lanky rapper initially seems carefree, greeting fans and dancing with laughing children. But at the British Airways lounge, some of his party —which included hairdressers, dancers and sound engineers—were denied access, and airline staff asked Mr. Broadus and his entourage to leave.

ENLARGE

Snoop Dogg arrives at Heathrow's police station in May 2006 after a dust-up where some in his posse weren't allowed in a first-class lounge.
Associated Press

Roughly 20 armed police descended on the scene. As they escorted the group through the airport, Mr. Broadus was pushed to the ground in a duty-free shop by baton-wielding officers, as is evident in the video and according to evidence given in the immigration hearings.

Mr. Broadus was detained overnight. Two in his party were convicted of public-order offenses for using threatening language, and one other person received a caution. U.K. police can issue a warning, or caution, to individuals who admit they are guilty of a minor offense, but it isn't a criminal conviction. "I never had any intention to cause violence or create a threat of it," said Mr. Broadus in a statement attached to his caution, in which he admitted to using colorful language.

The next year, Mr. Broadus planned a return to Britain to perform as well as to speak at an event against youth violence. But the U.K. banned him from entering, citing the "fracas in Heathrow" as well as convictions in the U.S. and outstanding charges for possession of drugs and firearms, according to the March 23, 2007, refusal.

The two outstanding charges were soon settled. The following month, Mr. Broadus pleaded no contest in a Los Angeles County Superior Court to possession of a gun and marijuana. And, in September 2007, he pleaded guilty in Orange County Superior Court in Santa Ana, Calif., to possession of a weapon in the form of a baton. He received a suspended sentence and community service in each instance.

U.K. immigration rules allow border authorities to refuse entry if they believe it would be for the public good based on "character, conduct or associations of the person seeking leave to enter." When a member of the House of Lords asked the government to allow Mr. Broadus entry, the then-minister for borders and immigration countered in a letter that the singer's presence "may act as a focus for public order offenses or violent crime." Mr. Broadus's lawyers have argued in court that all Mr. Broadus did during the Heathrow incident was use bad language and that he doesn't endorse a criminal lifestyle.

Snoop Dog's Troubles With the Law

April 2006: Snoop Dogg, real name Calvin Broadus, is involved at an incident at Heathrow airport after a dispute with British Airways over how many of this 30 strong entourage should be allowed to access the airline's first-class lounge during a layover. Mr. Broadus is released with a caution for using "insulting words."

March 2007: The U.K. refuses to grant Mr. Broadus entry to the U.K. for a series of concerts, citing "the fracas in Heathrow" as well as U.S. convictions and outstanding charges for possession of drugs and firearms.

January 2008: An immigration judge reverses the ban, finding no evidence that Mr. Broadus had been responsible for public disorder. Judge Nehar Bird said that the Heathrow melee was "precipitated by decisions made by BA staff and the police" and noted that Mr. Broadus had previously been granted permission to perform in the U.K. despite convictions in the U.S.

April 2008: After the U.K. border authorities ask the courts to reconsider the case, a second immigration judge comes to the same conclusion as Judge Bird.

November 2008: The government takes the case to the Court of Appeal. In a partial victory for the immigration authorities, the appeals court in 2008 said that Judge Bird had misinterpreted the test for exclusion for the public good and sent the case back to an immigration tribunal to re-hear the case.

January 2010: Two senior immigration judges watch video of the Heathrow incident during a day-and-a-half long hearing. A ruling is expected in the coming weeks.

It was a costly moment for Mr. Broadus. The planned 2007 trip was expected to generate concert ticket sales of about $15.9 million as well as spur further income from music sales, according to Mr. Broadus's lawyers. Tickets already sold for the shows were refunded.

Mr. Broadus appealed the decision. He won an early round when an immigration judge reversed the ban, finding no evidence that he had been responsible for public disorder.

In fact, Judge Nehar Bird said in her January 2008 decision, the Heathrow melee was "precipitated by decisions made by BA staff and the police" and noted that Mr. Broadus had previously been granted permission to perform in the U.K. despite convictions in the U.S. She added that Mr. Broadus had performed in France, Germany and other European countries in 2007.

Border authorities asked for the case to be reconsidered. But in April 2008, a second immigration judge came to the same conclusion Judge Bird had come to.

The government took the case to the Court of Appeal. In a partial victory for the immigration authorities, the appeals court in 2008 said that Judge Bird had misinterpreted the test for exclusion for the public good and sent the case back to an immigration tribunal to rehear it. A spokeswoman for the Judicial Communications Office said judges are unable to comment on cases they've heard.

Late last month, Mr. Broadus's legal team was back at it, this time in a small, white-walled London courtroom where two senior immigration judges watched video of the Heathrow incident during a day-and-a-half-long hearing.

The government's lawyer, Jeremy Johnson, argued that the Heathrow incident shows what happens in Snoop's world "when something does go wrong. Mr. Broadus may react badly and may threaten violence." He argued that Mr. Broadus was influential and that some of his fans were on the fringes of gang culture.

Previously on Snoop Dogg

Mr. Broadus's lawyer, Amanda Weston, scoffed, saying that some of Mr. Broadus's fans are dentists: "Is there a link there?" she asked. "This has become a minister defending a decision rather than a careful review" of the facts, Ms. Weston told the judges.

As Mr. Broadus has tried to battle his way into the U.K., he has found a warmer reception elsewhere in the former British Empire. In 2008, Australia granted him a visa after a full character assessment. Authorities there say they "weighed his criminal convictions against his previous behavior while in Australia, recent conduct—including charity work— and any likely risk to the Australian community."

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